Williams Finally Lures a Challenger Into Ring

Tim Williams has been state middleweight champion for a little less than eight weeks and he already has had more opponents than most titleholders get in two years.

The problem: He could not get any of them into the ring.

When he won the title on the last day of September with an eighth-round knockout of Alex Ramos, Williams (13-3-1, 11 knockouts) talked about getting a fight with Michael Nunn, ranked fourth by the World Boxing Council.

That was just talk. Nunn has his sights set on a bigger belt than the one Williams is wearing.

Next, Williams, who lives in San Diego, was to fight the winner of a James Kinchen-Larry Musgrove fight.

But Kinchen pulled out. Fine, Williams’ handlers said, their man would fight Musgrove.

Then Musgrove pulled out, claiming injury.

Williams finally will get into the ring Tuesday night at the Country Club in Reseda to make his first title defense--a scheduled 12-round fight against Roberto Rosiles of Blythe.

While not as well-known as some of the others, Rosiles (12-2-1, 10 knockouts) is no pushover. He turned pro 2 1/2 years ago at age 19 and his most recent fight, at the Sports Arena last month, ended with a sixth-round knockout of Anthony Wiley.

Also on Tuesday’s card, North American Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Frankie Duarte (42-7-1, 32 knockouts), who fights out of the Ten Goose Boxing Club of North Hollywood, will fight a three-round exhibition against three separate opponents, none of whom has yet been named. Duarte, who has not fought since beating Albert Davila in June, is trying to stay in shape while his handlers arrange a world title fight.

In Tuesday’s preliminary fights, lightweights Ruben Proa (8-9, two knockouts) of San Diego and Derrick Hudson (7-12-2, three knockouts) of Bakersfield will fight a six-rounder; and there also will be three four-rounders matching junior featherweights Luciano Martinez (0-3) and Juvenal Molina (5-5-1, three knockouts), both of Los Angeles; junior lightweights Tommy Garcia (1-0-1) of Bakersfield and Tony Olivas (1-0, one knockout) of Pasadena; and welterweights Martin Nunez (1-1, one knockout) of Lynwood and Otis Rogers (0-10) of Pomona.